| Algarve is arguably one of the most popular tourist | | | | found in its demographics: it being one of the least |
| destinations in Europe. A vast majority of all tourists to | | | | densely populated regions of Portugal, and probably |
| Portugal make a point to visit this Southern region of | | | | Europe as a whole. With about 76 resident in each |
| the country. Many people touring neighboring countries, | | | | square kilometers, this is hard to argue with. The figure |
| too, often make a detour to Algarve. At the peak of | | | | of 76 residents per square kilometer is found by |
| the tourism season in Algarve, visitor figures tend to | | | | dividing the city's resident population of just over |
| hover at around 1,000,000 - leading a situation where at | | | | 420,000 souls by its total surface area of just over |
| such a time, the number of visitors to Algarve ends up | | | | 5,400 square kilometers: to arrive at the said 76 |
| being almost triple the number of natives to the region! | | | | residents per square kilometer. Of course, the actual |
| 1) One of the most interesting facts about Algarve is | | | | density of people in Algarve is likely to go up |
| to be found in the name itself. As it turns out, Algarve | | | | considerably when you factor in visitors to the region |
| is one the very few popular places in Europe that bear | | | | (since the 76 per square kilometer only takes |
| an Arabic name: seeing that Algarve (like most names | | | | permanent residents and not the visitors). And it is |
| start with 'Al') is an Arabic name, simply meaning the | | | | worth noting - as mentioned earlier - that at the height |
| west. To be sure, the right Arabic name is Al Gharb, | | | | of high tourism season, the area can end up with as |
| which the westerners corrupted to Algarve, but the | | | | many as 1.5 million souls living in it, driving the density to |
| meaning and the roots still hold true. How the region | | | | over two hundred souls per square kilometer. |
| comes to have such a name is a matter of | | | | 4) Looking at the geography of Algarve, we discover |
| conjecture: but it is thought to be probably due to | | | | another interesting fact: that this is one of the most |
| Phoenecian and Moorish influences earlier in the history | | | | extensive tourist traps in Europe, and indeed in the |
| of the region. | | | | world. As it were, most other popular destinations tend |
| 2) Another interesting fact about Algarve lies in its | | | | to be cities or beaches, normally spread out over just |
| history: it being one of the earliest settled regions in | | | | a few kilometers. In the case of Algarve, however, the |
| Europe. Trade in this region, mainly involving the | | | | whole region is a popular tourist attraction in the realest |
| Phoenicians, goes as far back as a thousand years | | | | sense of the word. And the whole area happens to |
| before Christ: making Algarve one of the regions in | | | | be an upwards of 5,400 square kilometers, as |
| Europe with the longest provable histories in Europe. | | | | mentioned earlier. |
| 3) Yet another interesting fact about Algarve is to be | | | | |